Pittsburgh sports talk with the Trib columnist

Morning Java: 34 + 22 + 16 = 0

>> The plan for the week is a Steelers column for Thursday, a Penguins column for Friday and a flight out to Oakland for more NFL stuff on the weekend.

>> Finally got to a hockey game last night, inexcusably overdue on my part, but I did get to see something that fans in these parts aren’t likely to forget anytime soon …

Jean-Sebastien Giguere looked like his decade-ago self from his time with the Mighty Ducks, stopping all 34 pucks the Penguins sent his way. The Avalanche blocked 22 others and saw 16 others miss the net, making for an incredible 72 attempted shots and zero goals.

A few of my own thoughts from the evening: There’s almost nothing to analyze beyond Giguere. As Dan Bylsma told us afterward, “We had shots that were labeled. He was rock solid.” But it’s also worth pointing out that the Avs got big defensive showings from Jan Heyda (27 minutes, six blocks, four hits) and Hopewell native Nate Guenin (three blocks, three hits, great PK). … I’ve no doubt about Nate MacKinnon’s No. 1 overall pedigree, but I saw very little beyond a very green rookie on this night. … Evgeni Malkin attempted 15 shots, landed eight, had five blocked and missed two. Sidney Crosby attempted 13, landed seven, had five blocked and missed one. Yeah, it was that kind of night. … Think James Neal and Kris Letang might have made a difference? … Concern over the Penguins’ lack of grit up front really hasn’t manifested because of the hot start, but it sure shows on a night like this. Count up the fourth-line turnovers in the neutral zone, and that looks even worse. … I’ll admit: Robert Bortuzzo is growing on me. … I’ll further admit: There was way too much Matt Niskanen on the ice last night. … Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik aren’t playing like a shutdown pairing. … If a novice fan ever asks how a ref can call both an obstruction penalty and diving on the aggrieved party, show them the clip from the final minute of Guenin legitimately holding Jussi Jokinen and Jokinen legitimately going spastic to try to jazz it up. It really can be both. … It’s got to be asked: If the Avs are the NHL’s No. 1 team right now at 8-1, and the Penguins just schooled them for an hour like a JV shinny session, then what does that make the Penguins?

I’m increasingly convinced that there’s no better sports talk in our town than that brought to TribLIVE Radio every weekday morning by Ken Laird and Guy Junker, and I don’t particularly care if that sounds self-serving. These guys are good.

Dejan Kovacevic, a lifelong Pittsburgher, is an award-winning sports columnist for Trib Total Media covering the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates, Pitt and, recently, his fourth Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He also appears on WPXI-TV's 'Subway Final Word’ and hosts a weekly show on TribLIVE Radio. For 2011, he was named one of the country's top four columnists by the AP Sports Editors. For 2012, he was named one of the country's top three columnists by the National Headliners. For 2013, he was named the state's top columnist by the Keystone Press Awards and top columnist in Western Pennsylvania by the Golden Quills.